Cockroach Book Report

Cockroach, written by Rawi Hage, published in 2008 by House of Anansi Press Inc., tells the story of a new immigrant who comes to Montreal, Canada to escape his war torn country back home in Iran. We see Canada through the eyes of the unnamed protagonist throughout the novel who struggles financially, and emotionally, battling the cold Canadian winter, and ending up in special care after a failed suicide attempt upon arriving to Canada. Through his extremely small group of friends; Reza, Farhoud, and his lover, Shohreh, he manages to scrape together somewhat of a life for himself in Montreal’s small immigrant community. The protagonist imagines himself as a cockroach, invading the homes of the upper and middle class, and stealing not only items he needs to survive, but also bringing souvenirs back from his break-ins to his small run down apartment. This novel shines a light on the way Canadian immigrants are treated, how society honestly views the lower class, and how the upper classes are portrayed negatively by these immigrants.

The period in history the novel takes place in is modern day. Problems that arise in the book are problems that are actually happening in today’s society somewhere, not only in Canada but also around the world. One of these problems is mental health, the stigma around it, as well as the modern way we tend to deal with these issues, all of which we see in Cockroach. In more of the developed nations at least, we are far more aware of all the different forms mental illness takes. These forms can be Attention Deficit Disorders, depression, Schizophrenia, suicide, and Bipolar disorder, just to name a few. To treat these illnesses and disorders, modern innovations have come up with medicine to help people stay in a better state of mind, and there are also educated people who treat, and take care of people with mental health issues for a living such as therapists, doctors, or rehabilitation centres. Genevieve was the therapist assigned to the main character in the novel, who doesn’t have a name, after his suicide attempt. This was a way the government saw to help him, but most things about his old life the doctor was shocked and taken aback by. Topics that would often come up were guns and the ability to have guns in his old country versus in Canada. The people who are privileged, and who are treating these immigrants, do not understand where they come from or what their past lives were like. Therefore, it’s difficult to assess their needs when they have no comprehension of what they have been though? It seems as if they want to sweep their problems under the rug, make them forget, and hopefully just make them be “normal”.

Canadian immigration is also common in this period in time, and like reflected in the novel, there are problems that arise with immigration in Canada. These days it is becoming extremely hard to immigrate to Canada because the cost to become a citizen has become more expensive. By making it more expensive to become a Canadian citizen, the government hopes to strengthen the value of becoming a Canadian citizen. Even if immigrants can manage to afford to come to Canada, it is almost assured that they will be among the low class because most of their money was spent in becoming a citizen. Another law regarding immigration is called the “Canada’s Citizenship Act” which requires the new immigrant to have a permanent place of residence for the first three years of being a new citizen of Canada. This could become extremely complicated for an immigrant without much money. Often in Cockroach, Canada’s culture is portrayed as snooty, pretentious, and oblivious to the lower class. We see many examples of this in the book when the protagonist is in front of the restaurant staring at the couple eating, and leaning against the fancy sports car of some stuck-up customer in the restaurant. When customers complained, they called the police, and...

...Thing(ness)
1. Read this (this thing 1 cm. below)
P. J. O’Rourke, the political satirist, reviews in this issue a new book about Starbucks. He told us, in an e-mail exchange, how he brews his own reviews: “I read something I’m reviewing the same way I read other things except more so. That is, I already keep a commonplace book (a file folder, really) for quotations, ideas, information, etc. If I’m going to write a review I mark the work for myself, but besides underlining what interests me I also underline what — as far as I can tell — interested the author. By the time I’m done I have an outline for the review. All I have to do is figure out a smart-aleck lead sentence and a wiseacre ending.”1
2. Then read the “How to write a Book Review” article on the very next page. Yes, it is a bit long but the information is really quite good.
3. Over the week go to www.salon.com or to http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books read at least five reviews and then divide them into good and bad reviews. Think about the specific qualities that define the better ones. The article from step two of this process will be helpful at this point. At the end of the day a good book review sees an interesting pattern or spins your understanding of the book in a new and delightful way…and importantly is enjoyable to read (as a writer you need to have fun savaging the book, exploring it,...

...Write a Book Review
Your opinion is important—don't be afraid to voice it in a book review
Writing a book review is not the same as writing a bookreport or a summary. A book review is a critical analysis of a published work that assesses the work's strengths and weaknesses. A prominent reviewer can have a major impact on a book's reception. Many authors strive to have their books reviewed by a professional because a published review (even a negative one) can be a great source of publicity. One need look no further than Oprah Winfrey's famed Book Club to see the effect that this type of publicity can have on a book's sales. There are countless book review examples, but first, let's discuss how to write a book review.
You aren't in high school anymore
As mentioned, a book review is not a bookreport. Resist the temptation to summarize the character, plot, theme, and setting, which was probably the formula you used in your high school English classes. Your readers are not interested in having the book re-told to them, and are certainly not interested in having the ending spoiled. To become a legitimate book reviewer, you need to be able to tell your readers whether the book you are reviewing is interesting, thorough, original, and worth spending money...

...Example of Book Review
The Ka, a novel
An example of book review writing can be found listed with most books sold on the Net and on the writer’s Web sites.
A good sample book review would pertain to writing your personal feelings about a book that you’ve read.
Writing a book review is not to be confused with writing a summary of a book. Writing a summary is a totally different matter and that will be covered eventually in my Articles section.
In my opinion, no real format exists for writing book reviews. Writing help may not be needed. An example of book review variations is shown below.
Some rules do apply, however, and you will see that they are loose and easy to apply.
On this page, you will find reviews pertaining to my paranormal Egyptian fantasy novel, The Ka. You can also…
Read and analyze the first chapter of The Ka.
Read and analyze the lengthy character list for The Ka.
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Some Dos and Don’ts
of Writing Book Reviews
Do ~
State how you feel about the story overall.
Did you get emotionally involved?
(Sample: I cried at the ending. What happens to the main character is something I can easily relate to.)
Point out what you liked about the plot.
The setting. The season. Time period. The writer’s ability. Anything that moved you.
(Sample: The descriptions of the...

...How to Write a Book Review
A book review is a description, critical analysis, and an evaluation on the quality, meaning, and significance of a book, not a retelling. It should focus on the book's purpose, content, and authority. A critical book review is not a bookreport or a summary. It is a reaction paper in which strengths and weaknesses of the material are analyzed. It should include a statement of what the author has tried to do, evaluates how well (in the opinion of the reviewer) the author has succeeded, and presents evidence to support this evaluation.
There is no right way to write a book review. Book reviews are highly personal and reflect the opinions of the reviewer. A review can be as short as 50-100 words, or as long as 1500 words, depending on the purpose of the review.
The following are standard procedures for writing book reviews; they are suggestions, not formulae that must be used.
1. Write a statement giving essential information about the book: title, author, first copyright date, type of book, general subject matter, special features (maps, color plates, etc.), price and ISBN.
2. State the author’s purpose in writing the book. Sometimes authors state their purpose in the preface or the first chapter. When they do not, you may arrive at an understanding of the book’s...

...more per year, Jack still decided to go with The Firm because he felt more comfortable.
Jack started the first day of work as a junior staff member at The Firm with other seven members in his group. The first day was just learning all the “Bearism’s rules”, then after two weeks, Jack got to attend a group training section at The Firm’s national training center. After Jack got back from the training, he is assigned to do audit for the Rineholt Corporation. Jerry Lisbon was the senior in charge of Cement. Jack and Jerry went to the plant to do some audit works. During the audit, Jack found out that there was a problem with the clerk who handled miscellaneous cash receipts because when Jack asked to count the petty cash, she pulled her check book and wrote a $150 check and told Jack to include that check in the petty cash fund also. The clerk has been taken out money from the petty cash fund when she needed and no one ever noticed. She asked Jack not to tell the manager because if they found out, she will be fired. Jack didn’t want to make anyone fired, but he decided that he needed to talk to Jerry about it and he did. Jack has made a good decision.
Jerry had to go back earlier for his bigger client and let Jack took over the rest of the audit works. During his observation of the inventory count, he also found out that the cement inventory manager at the plant was not doing what he was supposed to do. Jerry wasn’t there for him to talk to. Jack went and...

...become successful in his or her life. In the book 7 habits of highly effective teens Sean covey boiled down 7 habits that make a successful teen these habit are some that every teen should want to learn to go on the right path.
Being productive,begin with the end in mind,put first things first think win win seek first to understand synerqize and sharpen the saw were all of the habits for highly effective teens each habit had a different way to show what effective teens had and how they were put to use.
being productive was habit one it show you that to start with change you have to start with yourself habit 2 was to have a mission statement for long term goals number 3 shows putting the most important things roles in life first and make time for them number 4 think win win was to look for disagreements that beneficial and situations that’ll help your life habit 5 is to understand then be understood try to understand other people then be understood habit 6 find trustful communication number 7 take time to help yourself
the book the possibiltes in life that can be avalibile if I practice the 7 habits i need to work on is picking my battles because if you because you walk away from a fight you dont win or lose this showed me also to not become frustrated
and if there is a reason i do to weigh and think of my option the good and bad results
in conclusion Sean conveys book was great and has in effected my life i recommend...

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I Acknowledgement
On the very outset of this report, I would like to extend my sincere & heartfelt obligation towards all the personages who have helped me in this endeavor.
Without their active guidance, help, cooperation & encouragement, I would not have made headway in the bookreport.
First, I would like to extend my sincerity and give thanks to our Dear God for giving me strength and His guidance
Second, I am extremely thankful and pay my gratitude to my Ms. Princess Jullah Petallana and our Dean Mr. Reynaldo H. Carandang Jr. for their valuable guidance and support on completion of this bookreport in its presently.
I extend my gratitude to Our Lady of Fatima University for giving me this opportunity. And to all individuals and organization especially to PHILIPPINE AIRPORT GROUND SUPPORT SOLUTIONS, INC. (PAGSS) that supported and gave their guidance in providing necessary information regarding to this kind of project.
I also acknowledge with a deep sense of reverence, my gratitude towards my
parents and member of my family, who has always supported me morally as well
as economically.
My success could not turn into reality without these people who help in different ways. To all of you who had been with me in the completion of the requirements. I appreciate all your help. Thank you very much!
II Introduction
The...